My next subject is retired, an Englishman living in Orlando, spending his days on the Chain of Lakes taking people on tours and showing them the wonderful wildlife and fabulous properties the area has to offer.  Not a bad existence and judging by his relaxed demeanour, fabulous tan and general look of contentment he is enjoying all the benefits.  Roger, his name quite fitting for a his current role in life, has a kind face and a personable disposition, pleasant to be around and a great storyteller.  There are lots of stories to be told when talking about the families that live in the grand mansions that reside in all their splendour on the lake banks of Windermere. He has had many a famous face on his boat and clearly he enjoys the company.  It’s good to hear an Englishman talking, the gruff voice from Burnley still strong despite his many years living here.

Name: Roger

Occupation: Retired but Runs Orlando Lake Tours.  Previously ran a Promotions Company for National Newspapers

1.Where were you born and raised?

Burnley, Lancashire in the UK.  Raised there and lived there for 35 years. Moved to Yorkshire & Isle of Man.

‘I was an only child, just me and my parents and I can never understand brothers and sisters.  I could never understand how my friends who had brothers and sisters were always fighting.’

‘Very working class, we had a corner shop on a terraced street.  My Mum ran the shop and before that she worked in a mill.  We were a good solid family.’

2. Tell me a childhood memory.

‘Probably in 1953 we were the first people on our street to get a television. I can vividly remember, I was six then, watching the 1953 FA Cup Final between Blackpool V Bolton and also watching the Coronation of the Queen.  It was the first time we had ever seen it on TV, there was a street party and there were so many people in our house, you could hardly see the tv it was so small.’

3.What is your favourite season and why?

‘Its probably Winter as I was nuts about football, or soccer as known here, that was the season so it was the best time for me.’

4.Tell me about someone you love.

‘Gotta be my wife Liz, without a doubt, absolutely love her to bits and can’t say anything bad about her.  She is fantastic.  We met at work, she was quite a bit younger than me.  It was never a romance we worked together for many years and were good friends.  As we got a little bit older we felt like we were closer in years and guess I’d always loved her.  We didn’t get married until she was thirty eight but I’d known her since she was seventeen.  It was one of those things where our paths went the other way but they would always come back together.’

5.What words of wisdom do you have for the reader about life?

‘The last decade you have in your life where you can do anything and everything in any quantity that you want is 50-60. So the greatest thing I can tell anybody is make the most of your young life.  After 60 its a different life.’  ‘If there are things you wanna do, get it done, the earlier the better.’

6.Dreams for the future?

‘To wake up every morning and to stay healthy.  To spend as much quality time with my family as possible.’

Roger is a good solid man.  Clearly there have been changes in his life.  Divorced and remarried.  I’m glad he found lasting happiness and together he and Liz have made a great life for their children together and the children he had beforehand.  Roger has a great voice, its strong and clear, what I call a Radio voice, perfect for his story telling role out on the lakes.

He loves life and perhaps feels like there are more things he wanted to do but is now feeling limitations at sixty eight years old, albeit looking good for his years.  I think as long as you are fit and healthy you don’t have to limit yourself but understand that he feels like those opportunities have passed him now.

I’m a little jealous of his boat, I’d like to do what he is doing, clearly I can tell a few stories too! You never know, it may happen.  I’m not sure I’d be safe manning a vessel and my navigation skills tend to always start a domestic in my house but hey, we have to have dreams, it’s what life is all about and I am discovering that this place is the American dream, the land of opportunity.